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The printing press: what a great invention... It fostered a rapid development in and dissemination of art and science through the production of books. But one wonders if Johannes Gutenberg would be as proud of his technology knowing what else it is used for.

The Federal Reserve gave $16 trillion in emergency loans over a 2.5 year period. The big banks got half. Last year, the gross domestic product of the entire U.S. economy was $14.5 trillion. You do the math.

While Bernanke was advocating for "easy money" as a way to stimulate the economy, Ron Paul was claiming the Fed's policies would lead to a worldwide economic crisis, and that we would be the ones to suffer. So it goes. He has said it is one of the primary reasons why our civil liberties are being destroyed. So it goes. He has said the Fed is playing games with our money and the big banks. Does playing games include banks paying back TARP funds to the Treasury by borrowing more money from the Treasury? He has claimed that the dollar has lost 95% of its purchasing power in the last century (even as salaries rise, and which some have called a "stupid argument") due to the Fed policies. Yup. (Plug in $1 in 1913 and you'll see it has the same buying power as $22.80 in 2011 dollars.) Perhaps it's time we start paying more attention to the so-called "fringe."

The U.S. Federal Reserve gave out $16.1 trillion in emergency loans to U.S. and foreign financial institutions between Dec. 1, 2007 and July 21, 2010, according to figures produced by the government's first-ever audit of the central bank.

Last year, the gross domestic product of the entire U.S. economy was $14.5 trillion...

Out of all borrowers, Citigroup received the most financial assistance from the Fed, at $2.5 trillion. Morgan Stanley came in second with $2.04 trillion, followed by Merill Lynch at $1.9 trillion and Bank of America at $1.3 trillion.

The audit also found that the Fed mostly outsourced its lending operations to the very financial institutions which sparked the crisis to begin with, and that they delegated contracts largely on a no-bid basis. The GAO report recommends new policies that would eliminate such conflicts of interest, and suggests that in the future the Fed should keep better records of their emergency decision-making process.

We all admire beauty, but the mind ultimately must be stimulated for maximum arousal. Longevity in relationships cannot occur without a meeting of the minds. And that is what Braincrave is: a dating venue where minds meet. Learn about the thoughts of your potential match on deeper topics... topics that spawn your own insights around what you think, the choices you make, and the actions you take.

We are a community of men and women who seek beauty and stimulation through our minds. We find ideas, education, and self-improvement sexy. We think intelligence is hot. But Braincrave is more than brains and I.Q. alone. We are curious. We have common sense. We value and offer wisdom. We experiment. We have great imaginations. We devour literacy. We are intellectually honest. We support and encourage each other to be better.

The Braincrave.com discussion group on Second Life was a twice-daily intellectual group discussions typically held at 12:00 PM SLT (PST) and 7:00 PM SLT. The discussions took place in Second Life group chat but are no longer formally scheduled or managed. The daily articles were used to encourage the discussions.